Imran Khan Falls Off Stage, Fractures Skull

Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan injured his head in a fall at an election rally.

In a dramatic turn of events leading upto the May 11 general elections in Pakistan, Pakistan's charismatic ex-cricketer turned politician and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan fell 15 foot at a campaign rally in Lahore, sustaining skull and back injuries in the process.

The 60 year old politician has emerged as a wild-card candidate and it is unclear how much his massive personal popularity will translate into votes at the polls. His party however is considered one of the top three parties in the country. The accident has jeopardised his chances continuing the last days of the campaign in person, but doctors say his injuries are not life threatening. The sudden sympathy wave that is being generated after Imran's accident, may or may not help in getting elected as Pakistan's next PM, but one thing is for sure. His voice, his presence and his message are bound to reach out to a wider audience in Pakistan.

WATCH: Imran Khan falls off stage

Dramatic television footage of the fall showed Khan standing on a stack of crates piled onto a forklift accompanied by at least three guards or supporters. As the forklift began to raise him up to the stage, the cricket star and three of the men standing next to him fall back over a railing.

Khan fell at least 5 meters (15 feet), and it's not clear what type of surface he fell onto. Local TV footage showed supporters carrying him away from the rally, apparently unconscious and with a bloodied face. Witness Raza Zaidi told AFP that Khan was being lifted on a crane with five people but lost his balance and fell when a sixth one tried to climb up. Khan hit the lifter before falling on the ground.

"Imran Khan has one head injury and two spinal cord fractures," Doctor Faisal Sultan, chief executive officer of Shaukat Khanum Hospital told reporters in a late night statement.

"But he is stable. He is conscious and he is recognising people," the doctor said.He will be kept under observation for a day and on Wednesday a team of doctors will further examine him and suggest the future course, he added."The other three men who fell with Imran Khan are very much OK. They were not admitted," Khan's spokesman Zubair Niazi told AFP.

PTI leader Asad Umer tweeted that the CT Scan results show Imran Khan has suffered a minor fracture of his skull and that he will be fine."CT scan results show only a minor fracture. IK will be fine Inshallah, though he is in a lot of pain."

But in a televised statement from his hospital bed shortly after, the former cricketer urged people to vote for his party in Saturday's polls.

"I did whatever I could for this country. Now remember 11th May, come out and vote for PTI without considering its candidates, just vote for PTI," he said, wearing a neck brace and speaking in a weak voice.

People at the rally venue, where thousands had gathered, expressed sadness.

"Passion and love for Imran Khan brought all these people here. We are still here, all we can do is pray now," said Sobia Khan, a PTI supporter. Hundreds of well-wishers and party supporters gathered outside the hospital, chanting "Long Live Imran Khan".

Khan's main rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is tipped to win the election, conveyed his sympathies too.